In 1970, the Russian physicist Vitaly Efimov considered the challenging quantum three-body problem and found a stunning class of solutions with bizarre and counterintuitive properties. These “Efimov states” remained a mere theoretical oddity for more than three decades, and experimental attempts in nuclear and molecular physics failed to provide evidence. The situation changed dramatically when ultracold atomic gases with tunable interactions became available. In 2005, our group in Innsbruck reported on the first evidence for Efimov states in an ultracold gas of cesium atoms. Since then the field has undergone a rapid development, and we now celebrate the 40th anniversary of Efimov states with rapid progress in the very active new research field of few-body physics with ultracold atoms.

Montag,  21. Juni 2010, 17:30 Uhr
(ab 17:00 Uhr Kaffee)